CALIFORNIA, United States: Exiled Iraqi Christians in the United States have launched an online petition nominating Al-Marje Ad-Dini Ayatullah Sayyed Ali Al-Husseini As-Sistani for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, drawing more than 8,000 signatures from around the world.

Holy Najaf-based Ayatullah As-Sistani “gave Muslims all around the globe a good example how to follow peaceful ways to resolve complex social (and) political challenges that face them, condemning terror and emphasizing ... rule of law,” the petition said.

“We are forwarding the petition for the 2005 prize by Tuesday, March 8. If they accept it for this year, it will be great, if not, we will still apply next year,” said Dr. Labib Sultan, one of the petition writers.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee makes its choice based on nominations submitted by Feb. 1 every year. Petitions submitted later are considered for the following year.

The petition, posted on the Internet on Feb. 27, was initiated by members of the Organization for Civil Society in Iraq - a group of activists from different Iraqi sects and ethnic groups - and the Iraqi Chaldean community in El Cajon City, Calif., near San Diego, who belong to one of Iraq's tiny Christian minorities.

“We are Chaldeans, but we are part of Iraq,” Hanna Kalabat, one of the petition writers told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “We support everyone who serves the country regardless of his religion or ethnicity ... I am born a human being, and my loyalty is to humanity.”

“After the occupation started, problems surfaced … but we had a wise man, Mr. Sistani, who prevented bloodshed and ridded us of the evil of civil war -- this is the main reason behind the nomination,” Kalabat said.

Kalabat, who became a US citizen in 1986, fled Iraq in 1963 when the Baath Party assumed power. Before retiring he taught at San Diego City College.

By Monday, more than 8,000 people from countries ranging from Fiji to Sweden to Saudi Arabia had signed the petition. They included Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and atheists.

According to Kalabat, Ayatullah As-Sistani's contributions to peace are not only local, but international as well.

“He has many writings promoting world peace, and we are in the process of collecting them to support our plea,” he said.

Nobel Peace Prize petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/ocsi2005/petition.html